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New Road Connects Isolated West Bank Villages
FrontLines - October 2009
NABLUS, West Bank—Residents in central West Bank were celebrating in the street when the 3-kilometer dirt road connecting
the villages of Urif and Asira Al Qibliya, south of Nablus, was paved for the first time.
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Workers install a new road base as part of a $5.2 million project to link villages in central West Bank.
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Young men were dancing and cheering, and children were riding their bicycles on the new asphalt road.
This road section is part of the $5.2 million Bureen-Urif Road Project, linking the isolated villages
of Bureen, Madama, Asira Al Qibliya, and Urif with the main regional highway.
Fawzi Shehadeh, mayor of Urif Village, said that 15,000 Palestinians stand to benefit.
The road project, completed in August 2009, is one of 17 projects under USAID’s $300 million Infrastructure Needs Program (INP) in the West Bank implemented by MWH Americas Inc. and International Relief and Development. With $80 million
in first-year funding, INP is constructing seven schools, two water systems, and over 60 kilometers
of asphalt roads.
Gene Lin, USAID’s senior infrastructure engineer, said: "USAID has provided Palestinians with over $2.2 billion
of assistance since 1994, of which approximately 30 percent has been used for infrastructure. The INP continues infrastructure assistance to the Palestinian people
to improve their quality of life and support economic growth."
He added that "the first year of the INP has created over 140,000 person-days of employment
for Palestinians as the U.S. firms are subcontracting all design and construction work to local companies."
Residents of Madama and Bureen also celebrated when their section of the 9-kilometer project was completed, connecting
their villages with the regional highway. This portion of road was last rehabilitated 35 years ago, according to Bureen village elders.
The new road allows farmers to transport produce and livestock
to markets in neighboring villages and sell homemade products such as jam, dried fruits, hummus, and olives.
Companies will be able to make faster pickups and deliveries,
spurring economic activity and creating new jobs. The roads will also ease visits to family and friends, as well as improve access for ambulances and other emergency services.
The area will also benefit from another endeavor under the INP, the Bureen Water System Project, which will supply the village with piped water for the first time.
Before the project, residents had to hand carry water from a nearby spring, collect rainwater, or buy water from tanker trucks at great expense. The $6.1 million
project was completed in mid-September.
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